Revenge
by bluejay
Summary: When Nightwing investigates a warehouse, he runs into an ambush he isn't prepared for. Thankfully, there's someone who can help.  Prequel to 'Behind the Facade'
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, and Alfred Pennyworth belong to DC.  
>Harry Dresden belongs to Jim Butcher. Matthew Demerrio is mine.<br>Notes: Here's the prequel to 'Behind the Façade' that I've been working on for months. Again, it's already done. Just posting one chapter a day.

Also, to VM mercenary, I couldn't reply to your review so I'm taking this opportunity to: I'd rather not do as you suggested because I couldn't make heads nor tails of DC magic while White Council magic is pretty much Physics-based. I have expounded more on the latter in this prequel while I ran screaming in fear at any mention of DC magic. Thanks for your feedback, though :)

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><p>I reached Bludhaven by nightfall and the rental I'd gotten hadn't broken down once – I took that as a sign that things were about to go shitty. Knowing how my life usually went, that wasn't paranoia talking. I mean, it is one thing to prepare for that 'just in case', and another to actually be expecting it.<p>

I drove through the streets, searching for a cheap motel. Bludhaven was a gritty place; trash lined the sidewalks, the air choked with smog, and I bet an underhanded deal was being made in the alley I just passed. All the while, someone was playing his stereo loud enough to blast eardrums away.

A nagging memory prickled in my head. The music being played had a repetitive, thumping rhythm to it; almost like a heartbeat. The last time I'd heard music with a constant beat like that was a couple of Halloweens ago and that went to hell quickly.

I turned to follow the music.

I had just entered the docks when I spotted the source: it was coming from a dark sedan that had stopped by a dimly lit warehouse. I cruised to a stop in a shadowy area a few blocks away, surrounded by piles of containers. Even from here, I could see the car was empty and the warehouse's doors were wide open. Light from an overhead lamp indoors spilled out to the street.

Everything was silent; the thumping music the only sound in the surrounding area. But I felt a greasy stain of black magic so I closed my eyes and Listened. Listening was a skill I learned years ago; a skill borne of focus, discipline, and a bit of magic. It lets me cut through the ambient noise to hear what goes on behind.

It didn't take me long to filter past the music. More thumping sounds greeted me, interspersed with the clanging of metal. It almost sounded like…well, like noise.

Then I heard a cry of pain.

My eyes shot open just in time to see movement by the warehouse's upper storey windows. Two shadows were struggling furiously until one of them leapt through the glass. It nimbly bounced off the pile of crates below before landing in a patch of light thrown by a single streetlamp.

I found myself looking at a man, his back towards me. He was wearing an all-black outfit with a blue stripe running across his upper back down to his arms. Red blood glistened from a large gash on his shoulder.

There was a second crash; quickly followed by the cracking of a lot of wood. Another figure lurched out of the now broken pile of crates and stumbled towards the black-clad man. One leg was dragging across the ground but it didn't seem to bother the figure. And it was gaining speed with every step.

With growing alarm, I recognized the second figure even before it stepped into any light.

I reached for my staff and floored the gas pedal at the same time. The first man started and glanced at me. I only had a glimpse of his mask and the sticks he was clenching before the second man was almost on us.

Staff in hand, I leapt out of the car and pointed it at the oncoming figure. "_Forzare_!"

Unseen force blasted the zombie backwards to land near the warehouse doors.

"Get in the car!" I yelled to the masked man without shifting my gaze. I gathered my will and aimed next at the broken pile of crates. "_Ventas servitas_!"

Gale winds brought the wood pile crashing onto the zombie, instantly burying it. I knew it wouldn't stop the thing, but I hoped it would slow it down enough for us to get away.

I hurried back in to the rental; barely noticing the masked man watching me from the passenger seat. Two minutes later, I was speeding away from the docks with tires squealing.

"Hey!" my passenger protested, "He might die back there!"

"Newsflash, kid. He's already dead."

"What?"

I gestured back at the docks. "Guy chasing after you? Souped up zombie."

"That's a zombie?" He stared at me, incredulous. "What happened to the moaning and groaning?"

"You don't waste that much energy raising the dead for cannon fodder, do you?"

"Good point."

He quieted down so I held my hand out to him. "Harry Dresden."

"Nightwing." His handshake was firm, but cautious. I only then realized how young he looked despite the mask hiding his features. His eyes were thankfully hidden behind white lenses. "Thanks for the save."

"Part of the job," I shrugged, "Foiling dastardly plans, saving uh...mortals in peril."

"Thanks for not saying 'damsel'." I could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"You got the wrong bits to be one. So, you got a place to spend the night?"

Nightwing grinned, leaning back on the seat. "Now now, we've only just met."

"Despite what some people might say, I don't swing that way. And if you wanted to stay in the car that badly..."

Silence greeted me. I glanced at my passenger and realized he'd fallen unconscious. And that his blood was still soaking the car seat. Hell's bells, the kid needs help. And soon.


	2. Chapter 2

It took me ten minutes to find a motel and get checked in. Then another five minutes to cast a quick veil and maneuver the boy up the stairs and into the room. I'm not an expert at veils; but it was late at night and I hoped no one would see a freakishly tall guy hustling a superhero into a motel room. I don't have a death wish. My life's hazardous enough as it is.

The room had two beds. I dropped Nightwing on the one nearest the window and ran out to the car to grab my stuff.

When I got back, I got rid of the kid's top to check on his shoulder. It was fairly straight, maybe made by a knife. The zombie must have retained its knife skills when it was raised. Animated corpses weren't known for the number of brain cells they still had remaining. But going up against a zombie with a weapon? The kid was either very lucky or very good.

I'd brought a first aid kit with me (being a professional wizard should be on the list of Most Dangerous Jobs in the World) and while I wasn't a doctor, I'd done my own share of patching myself up. Unfortunately, my passenger slash patient stirred while I was stitching him up.

"That hurts…" he groaned.

"Sorry, kid. Forgot the topical."

"Who-?"

"It's Harry, remember? Just suck it up. I'm almost done."

He remained silent as I finished putting the rest of the stitches in then wrapped bandages around his shoulder. "Done."

He sat up and flexed his arm, wincing whenever he stretched or rotated it in full. "Thanks for helping. But I'd better go."

"What, I bring you here, I patch you up and now you're leaving? I thought we were getting somewhere…"

"Uh, sorry but, you're not my type." There was a smile playing on his lips.

"Okay, so I was kidding about the getting somewhere part. But I'm not going to let you out there."

The vigilante frowned at me, suspicion in his voice. "Why not?"

"Stars and stones," I pinched the bridge of my nose. After a day spent traveling, fighting off a zombie, and then the frantic doctoring, I could feel that headache coming. "Look, that zombie back there. He wasn't alone, was he?"

The vigilante shook his head. "There were four of them. One of them acted as their leader."

"That'd be your necromancer. The rest would probably be more zombies."

"Your point being?"

"If he wants to kill you badly enough to send three zombies after you, then he'll be sure to try again. Before that happens, I'd like to set up some wards so he'll have a harder time finding you. At least for tonight."

Nightwing considered that for a moment before nodding. "Alright. Just for tonight. But I want you to stay where I can keep an eye on you."

"Even in the bathroom?"

The vigilante glared.

I grinned and turned towards the door. "By the way, you're not doing this vigilante thing on your own, are you?"

"I'm working solo on Bludhaven, why?"

I waved towards the single phone in the room. "Just thought you might want to check in with someone before they turn the city upside down looking for you. I'd rather not have to pay for damages along with the cleaning bill the rental will slap me with."


	3. Chapter 3

I busied myself with setting up the wards I'd promised; ignoring the vigilante. I crouched by the door, bringing out the chalk I'd kept in my coat pocket, and quickly scribbled a couple of protective symbols on the door frame. Then I drew out a knife and pricked my thumb with it, dabbing a drop of blood on the symbols. When all the symbols were done, I gathered my will and focused it on my handiwork.

The lights flickered.

Behind me, Nightwing was calling on the receiver, "O? You still there, O?"

"Something happen?" I asked.

"Yeah." He grimly set down the receiver, taking a quick glance around the small room. "The phone line suddenly broke."

"Oh, that happens. Sorry."

"What?"

"Magic and technology don't mix. When I cast the ward, it must have fried the line."

The vigilante frowned at me then sighed and dropped back onto the bed. "Great. In my line of work, a broken call usually meant bad news."

"Meaning I might have to pay for damages after all." I rubbed my forehead. That headache was beginning to pound like a nightclub. "Stars and stones."

"Hey, I was able to talk to O before we got cut off. It might not be so bad."

"Kid, with my luck, I might end up-"

I had glanced up to face him when I realized he had gotten rid of the white lenses in his mask and that I was now staring at his bright blue eyes.

That was a mistake.

The soulgaze triggered and I couldn't stop it.

I saw a young boy hunched on the ground, the bodies of two adults beside him. They were all wearing the same designed costumes and I realized the man and woman must be the boy's parents; and their broken bodies were evidence enough of what had happened. It was like someone had cut their strings and let the puppets fall to the ground.

Then the boy looked up, and there was suddenly a dark figure standing in front of him. It was dressed in black, with pointed ears on its head and white slits for eyes. I watched the figure reach out a hand to the boy and he took it.

When the boy stood up, he was now wearing a colorful costume of red, green and yellow. A mask now also hid his eyes. The boy was grinning at the dark figure, their hands still clasped.

But the soulgaze wasn't finished.

The dark figure suddenly dropped the boy's hand and turned away. Its cape swirled and briefly enshrouded the boy; when I saw the boy again, he had grown into the young man I'd met tonight wearing the black and blue outfit. He was facing away from the figure and surrounding him were...costumed people. Lots of costumed people. They were looking at him with respect in their eyes, and he met their gazes head on. But always behind him was the dark figure standing tall.

It felt like an hour had passed but in reality, less than a minute had gone by. I blinked and staggered backwards.

"What-what was that?" Nightwing's eyes were wide as they stared at me. "The things I saw..."

I shook my head and straightened. I knew what he meant by 'things'. They were things no one should have to face in their lifetime. "You're a good kid, Nightwing. And you've been lucky."

He continued staring at me in silence, his mouth forming words but no sound came through.


	4. Chapter 4

"That was a soulgaze," I explained and headed for the windowsill. This was a subject I wasn't comfortable telling a vanilla mortal. They tend to get weirded out and hysterical. But the kid needed an explanation, if only to reassure him it was my nightmare and not his. "I saw your soul – the kind of person you are – and you saw mine. Most of all, I saw what you're capable of and it's...incredible."

"And you? That...that shadow behind you. That wasn't normal, was it?"

"No. It wasn't." The room had only one window. I'd taken note of that earlier. Warding this place shouldn't take long. "What you saw was an old scar. It's a long story."

"We've got time."

"It might not be a story you'd want to hear." I drew a couple of the symbols on the frame. "What I tell you could put you and your family in danger."

"I've heard those before."

"Not like this. I don't want the Justice League pissed at me if something happens to you." I dabbed a bit of blood to the drawings.

"You might want to open the window first."

"Open it? Why would I-?" I glanced up. And came face to cowl with the dark figure from Nightwing's soulgaze. "Hell's bells!"

I leapt back as Batman – _the_ goddamn freakin' Batman – slid the window open and quietly climbed in.

"You guys never use the front door, do you?" I squeaked.

"It's more fun this way." Nightwing joked.

"Right. Front doors are passé and windows are the future. No matter how high it is." I muttered and went back to finish the ward.

"I had to jump out of a second-story window." Nightwing explained behind me. "There was a stack of crates to land on. It was nothing."

"And your shoulder?" Batman growled.

"It was a trap. But I got out okay."

"How many?"

"Four."

Silence greeted his answer.

"Harry said they were zombies."

I glanced back just in time to find Nightwing cock his head towards me. I took that to mean I had to explain why a vigilante as experienced as the kid is – I remembered reading about a young boy partnering tall, dark and grumpy who wore a costume of red, green and yellow – couldn't handle four guys when he had obviously gone against more years ago. I pocketed the chalk.

"One necromancer and three zombies." I said, turning around.

Batman kept his gaze on me. "This isn't a game."

"If I were playing, I'd be the berserker guy. Lots of mayhem, no thinking required."

They were still staring at me. It was like looking at a pair of twins, only one was shorter and younger.

"Stars and stones." I sighed. "Okay, as I was telling your boy here, what I have to tell you may be something you don't want to know."

Batman nodded. "Keep talking."

"Magic is real."

"The Justice League has mages in the reserves." Nightwing commented.

"And there's an entire world existing alongside your everyday life. Monsters, nations, feuds, alliances, wars, you name it. Wizards are only a part of it."

"And zombies and necromancers are common in your world?"

"Not…really." I gestured at the unfinished ward I was setting. "Look, let me finish warding the place first then we can talk. I don't want to have those zombies crashing in if I can help it."

"Fine." Batman said in a tone that meant he was doing me a favor, then turned to Nightwing. "Turn around."

"I'm fine!"

"Robin will arrive in two minutes." The older vigilante told me, ignoring the younger's protests. "Leave the window open."

Nightwing grumbled but did as he was told, letting his father inspect my handiwork. I didn't want to admit it, but I was envious. Here were two guys who shared a close father-son relationship. They had started a family without sharing a single blood tie between them. Some orphans were just lucky.

I quietly waited by the open window. It was better for the window to be closed before I set the ward; kind of like how a home security system turns on as soon as you lock the door. I didn't want to have to reset my wards off and on for several times tonight.

A minute passed.

Then two.

Both vigilantes were looking towards the window by now; I knew they were worried despite the stony expression on their faces. I figured vigilantes had to be prompt as they couldn't always afford to be late. Something must have happened.


	5. Chapter 5

The feeling hit me as soon as I thought it – a sense of wrongness, like an inkblot on a white sheet.

I whirled and leaned out the window.

Two figures were flying towards me – one resolving itself into a brightly costumed boy and the other...

I gathered my will and called my staff to me. I could almost see the thin line the boy was hanging onto for dear life as he swung to the motel.

The staff flew to my hand, its runes already glowing.

I could also see the boy wasn't going to make it.

Nightwing cursed behind me. "He's not gonna make it-!"

"He will." I interrupted, watching Robin reach the apex of his swing. "Trust me."

If I had the time, I'd be impressed by the boy's mid-air flip as he let go of his line. As things stood, I barely had time to yell, _"Ventas servitas!"_

Powerful winds blew the kid the rest of the way to the window.

I ducked aside to let him through then slammed the window shut. A quick _"securus!"_ and the ward activated.

Just in time, the imp that had been chasing Robin reached the window-

- and was promptly hurled back with a crackle of energy.

The imp screeched at me before vanishing in a fiery burst.

"Whoa! What was that!" exclaimed a young voice from behind me.

I turned to lean back against the wall, my head pounding. Robin had landed on his older brother and was gingerly picking himself up with Batman's help. When the boy was clear, Nightwing sat up, clutching at his wounded shoulder (it was probably bleeding again). Robin had numerous scratches over his face and arms. Some of them looked deep.

Batman glared at me the whole time.

I shrugged. "I don't like imps in general."

"That was an imp?" Robin spoke up.

"Wings, claws, demon-faced and the size of a chicken. Definitely an imp."

"You were right on the demon-faced. And I thought I'd seen a lot." The boy commented with a shudder.

"I had zombies an hour ago." Nightwing had raided the medkit and was stiffly working on the worst of Robin's injuries. "Stronger and faster than normal."

"Is there even a _normal_ zombie?"

"Good point."

I found myself smiling at the kids' banter when Batman suddenly stepped in between me and the kids. "What are you planning?"

I blinked, trying to follow the change in subject despite the hammering in my skull. "Uhm, what?"

"You were at the docks to help Nightwing. There aren't many who would go to the docks at nightfall. What's. Your. Game."

"Nothing." I straightened. Pain stabbed me in the eye but I ignored it. "I was sent to Bludhaven to do my job, and part of it just happens to be at the docks tonight."

"What job."

"I'm a professional wizard investigator. A regular ghostbusting Sherlock Holmes." I answered with a grin then winced again at the sharp pain in my temples.

"Hey, you okay?" Nightwing's concerned voice asked me. Batman grabbed the bandages from him and continued his work on Robin.

"Other than tired, hungry, and running low on magic? Just peachy."

"You need to rest."

"Glad to. If you can tell your stalkers to leave off for the next few hours, that is."

"You think they're after us?"

I nodded slowly, not wanting to aggravate my headache. "We weren't followed on the way here from the docks. I'd be able to sense them. And the wards I set up muddles your trail."

"So, both Robin and I are under attack; but not Batman." Nightwing sighed then addressed the elder vigilante. "And what brought you here this time?"

"Oracle said you were attacked by supernatural nasties." Robin explained. Batman was now working on re-bandaging Nightwing's shoulder. "Batman wanted to make sure you were okay."

"You don't trust me to handle it?" Nightwing scowled at the elder vigilante.

"Your call was cut off and your signal had disappeared. I was concerned." I caught Batman's glance towards me. "And your friend is?"

"Intimidated." I answered promptly.

"Yeah, he has that effect on everyone. I have to keep reminding him to smile." Nightwing remarked dryly. "This is Harry Dresden. He saved my butt a while ago."

"Can he be trusted?"

"For this case, I think so."

The dark-clad vigilante turned to me. "Start talking."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Taking a bit of time to respond to a review. To **VM mercenary**: Ah, I see what you mean. While the connections aren't important in this fic, I might be able to mention something in the sequel I'm writing. It'll only be minor though, as I don't really have a feel for Zatanna or any of the magi in the DCU but I'll see what I can do. Thanks again for the feedback :) (Oh, by the way, you have private messaging disabled so I think that might be why writers don't respond to your reviews.)

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><p>Being the wiseass that I am, I did. "Oh sure. I have an evil twin playing disco in my head on subwoofer stereos and between the zombie, the imp and the boogeyman, I'm running extremely low on magic and getting extremely tired."<p>

"Mr. Dresden..." Nightwing warned.

"Call me Harry." I sighed and settled down on one of the unoccupied armchairs. "Okay, as I said, I'm a couple steps away from crashing. But the wards keep out most supernatural nasties so your sons should be safe for the night."

"We're not related." Batman corrected.

"Not by blood, I know. But that didn't stop you from making a family when you adopted Nightwing."

Batman leaned forward and scowled at me. "How did you know that?"

"We shared a soulgaze." Nightwing offered.

"A what?" asked Robin, confused.

The older vigilante glanced at the kids but turned the full extent of his glare at me. "Explain."

"Alright, a soulgaze is a sort of vision of the other's soul – his nature, what he's capable of. It happens when you hold a wizard's gaze for a full second."

"So you've seen who he is."

I shook my head. "If you had your picture plastered on Chicago newspapers, I'd probably recognize you. But at the rate I'm going, I'd have more chance of seeing your costumed halves. And don't expect me to catch you on TV either."

"Why?"

"Magic and technology doesn't mix well, you said earlier." Nightwing interjected.

I nodded. "I've blown hard drives just by standing beside them."

"And what did you see in the…soulgaze?"

"Other than capes in all colors of the rainbow? That you took in a lost kid and raised him to be one of the most respected heroes in the world."

Batman turned to Nightwing. "And you?"

"Monsters." He answered with a shudder. "I saw him fighting monsters."

"All part of the job." I shrugged and held my head in my hands. It felt like it was trying to split open.

"I think we'd better continue this interrogation tomorrow." Nightwing said decisively. "Harry's tapped out."

I smiled gratefully at him then remembered something. I reached down into my coat pocket and tossed a small token to Batman. "Here. I figure you'd want your kids to stay here for the night at least, so I'm lending this to you. It'll let you pass through the wards."

"You're allowing me to leave?" Batman said in a challenging tone, as though he was daring me to contradict him. Too bad for him, my head was weighing a ton and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open.

So I dropped my head into my hands again and told him, "Unless you're planning to kill me in my sleep, I've got no beef with you. And I don't think this room's got space enough for four."

"If you're expecting me to leave them for the next few days-"

"I'd be kicked out on my ass." I interrupted. The room was getting a little fuzzy. "I can't afford to babysit two kids for more than a night and still do my job. My wallet's anorexic enough with just me."

I leaned back on the armchair. I heard Batman saying something about coming back with supplies but I was feeling too woozy to care.

Then I was past all feeling.


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up the next day with the sun burning my eyes out and the room smelling of…

"Are those…pancakes?"

Nightwing grinned smugly and handed me a plate of the stuff. "Homemade. Least we could do for helping us last night."

"If helping you got me free meals like this, put me on your list."

The vigilante grinned wider. "In that case, there's plenty more where that came from."

"Anything happen while I was out?" I dug in before drool starts dripping out of my mouth. With the way my wallet usually went, I seldom enjoyed a decent meal much less a home-cooked one. So the delicious offering Nightwing brought was a godsend. And it tasted heavenly too.

"It's been quiet." He glanced to his left where a kid – I guessed it was Robin – sat tinkering with something in his hands. Batman must have returned to leave his boys a change of clothes because both kids were in casual jeans and shirts and while Robin still wore his mask, Nightwing opted to be without a disguise.

"You've seen me without my mask." The vigilante explained, catching the look I gave him. "I thought it moot, even if you don't know my name."

"Ah."

"Batman wanted us to check on a few things." Robin spoke without turning. "If it's safe out there, that is."

I nodded in between bites. "It should be. Most of the monsters only come out at night." A thought occurred to me. "Come to think of it, I might need your help."

"What kind of help?" Nightwing asked.

"The information kind." Both kids frowned at me as I polished off the last of my pancakes. Feeling stuffed for the first time in weeks, I set my plate aside and grinned at their expressions. "I won't ask for secret ID's or exposes. I've got enough to fill my head twice."

I leaned my arms on my knees and looked directly at Nightwing. "I was sent here to check out reports of black magic. I need to know if there have been weird stuff happening in Bludhaven other than last night, and I need to know when and where."

"What kind of weird stuff?" Robin turned to face me in full; I was relieved to note he had on the white lenses of his mask. No chance for another accidental soulgaze.

"Things that seem ordinary under uncommon circumstances. Unusual deaths."

Nightwing thought for a while. "Unusual like bodies with their heads twisted all the way around?"

I blinked. That was a new one, even for me. "Where and how many?"

"Forget that," Robin interjected. "We already know it was some mob boss called Blockbuster."

"How about the corpses with wings?"

"We solved that four months ago."

"And the-"

"Alright already!" I ran a hand through my hair. "Stars and stones and I thought Chicago was bad."

Both boys grinned at me.

"It's mostly the metas." Nightwing explained. "Too much power, too much anger."

"And a lot of work for us." Robin piped up.

Hell's bells, I'd forgotten I had two of the foremost defense against the world's baddest super villains with me. And one of them had been doing it since _before_ he hit puberty. When I was that age the only villains I was worried about were the orphanage bullies.

"Maybe you could tell us what you're really looking for?" asked Nightwing.

I shook my head. "It could be anything. A swarm of bees manifesting in the trunk of a car. Car accident while water-skiing. Lightning striking twice to bring down an electrical pole."

"Those are…" Robin had a look on his face as though he didn't know whether to laugh or be serious, "…unusual."

"But only when you think about it." Nightwing looked thoughtful. "There's been a report of missing homeless around Melville Park. Five missing in just two weeks' time."

"And the cops didn't follow it up?" I asked, knowing what my friend, Sgt. Murphy, would do back in Chicago. She was tenacious when it came to protecting people; it was why I could always count on her for backup.

"You're in Bludhaven." Robin scoffed. "Cops can't be bothered to follow up on missing homeless."

"But someone did look into it." The older vigilante retorted. "One of the reports say there was nothing to be found. Not even trace evidence."

"Sounds like my kind of case." I rose from the bed. "If you can point out the directions?"

"Better." Nightwing grinned. "I'll take you."


	8. Chapter 8

It didn't take long for us to pack up and clean the place. The imp had followed Robin to this motel last night; I didn't want to take the chance that whoever sent it would know we holed up here. In the same vein, I went down to check out and sent the two vigilantes to the car. The necromancer probably still didn't know about me and the less I'm associated with the two walking wounded the better.

I was starting to count out the few bills I had when the clerk said, "It's all been paid for."

"Uhm, what?"

"Room 305, right? Your bill's been paid for this morning."

"Oh. Uhm. Thanks." I left before the clerk could find out if it was a mistake, though I had a feeling it wasn't.

I was still in a daze when I walked out to the car. Nightwing was sitting on the front passenger seat, and Robin was nowhere in sight.

"He went to help Batman with another case." The vigilante explained as I climbed in. "And much as I want to drive, my shoulder's too stiff."

I kept silent as I drove out to the street, my thoughts swirling about the paid bill. There was no one I knew in Bludhaven who would be generous enough to foot my bill. In fact, I didn't know anyone at all in this city, except for…

"You okay?" asked Nightwing in a worried tone.

"You paid the bill."

"I didn't-" he broke off, thinking. "No, with me stuck in that room all night, I didn't have time to. But I know someone who does."

"Batman. Your father." I grunted in relief. I'd never had a client generous enough to pay for my meal and board. There might be something to helping costumed vigilantes after all. "I guess that makes it my babysitter's fee."

"Hey!"

"Where do I turn?" I ignored him.

"Right at the next intersection. And that's twice more than what Batman usually paid my sitters."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." The vigilante nodded. "But he did give a bonus whenever someone tried to kidnap me."

"And how many times did that happen?"

"Too many to count."

I quirked an eyebrow at him and he grinned back, "Most were idiots though. They weren't expecting to be kidnapping a junior superhero."

"I'd hate to be in the kidnapper's shoes when I face your old man."

"Trust me, they weren't happy." He laughed, the sound brightening the mood I was in. It had been a long time since I'd felt that…not happy exactly, but buoyant. In between my work as a Warden or a professional wizard, I had precious few rewards. Life sucks.

It didn't take us long to reach the area where the homeless were reported missing. The neighborhood wasn't exactly seedy, but it had the well-worn look of a place infrequently maintained. Old buildings were covered in graffiti. The newer ones were covered in peeling paint and smog stains. Before too long, I bet there'll be graffiti decorating the new façade too.

Nightwing pointed me in the direction of a parking lot nearby. A few minutes later, we were out of the car and walking towards Melville Park.

With a town like Bludhaven, I'd expected a park that was slowly making its way to a landfill. But Melville hadn't reached that stage yet. Wrappers and used plastic cups littered the area. Benches looked like they would fall over if anyone sat on them. And the turf itself was overgrown with weeds. Still, the grass was green and there were still kids running around.

"The missing homeless were passing through here when they vanished," Nightwing told me as we walked past a group of children playing. His gait was casual, but his eyes darted everywhere.

"It's pretty open," I remarked. I'd noticed the next buildings were at least a block away. It would be nearly impossible for someone to hide while waiting for a victim. "Did anyone notice anything?"

"No. Three people said they had just looked away for two seconds and when they glanced back, the guy was gone."

"And these three people are fellow homeless?"

The vigilante nodded, his tone was grim as he said, "And it's also why the cops didn't follow up. The homeless aren't credible."

"And you, of course, are the exception."

Nightwing froze and turned to face me. "What do you mean by that?"

"You're a cop, aren't you? It's subtle, but I know that look."

"What look?"

"The one that says you're suspicious of everything and wouldn't let any detail pass by unnoticed." I smirked. "I've hung around a cop once too many times."

He exhaled noisily and ran a hand through his hair. "He's going to kill me."

"Who?"

Nightwing gave me a look. "You know who. He's always been strictly protective of our secret ID's."

"Oh. He'll have to call dibs, if your stalker manages it first."

"Nah. He'll be first in line. The necromancer doesn't even stand a chance."

"And why's that?"

Nightwing smirked. "He's Batman."

It was my turn to give him a look. "I'll bet you say that to everyone you meet."

"Every chance I get."

I found myself grinning inwardly at the vigilante's joke. It felt nice to work a case with someone who exchanges witty banter. I had friends who'd give as good as they got; but they were all innocents in the paranormal world. More often than not, I had to throw a smart ass remark to lighten up the situation – dealing with monsters tends to get bloody ugly real fast.

Nightwing was different though. If half of what I'd read in the papers were true, the vigilante had faced nightmares since he was a kid. This was someone who'd known early on how dark the world could be yet he could still find where the sunlight is. The situation felt considerably lighter despite the sense of death.

_Sense of death? Wait a minute…_

I stopped walking and expanded my wizard senses for a better feel of the place. "There's been no trace of the missing people, right?"

Nightwing had stopped beside me and shook his head. "Nothing since the last report."

"I think they're dead."


	9. Chapter 9

We spent the rest of the day asking questions, going over the scene, and asking more questions. After the first few glares sent my way, Nightwing took over the questioning.

"You're not putting them at ease, Harry." He scolded me on our way to the next interview.

"I'm diplomatically challenged." I answered with a shrug.

But despite all the people we talked to, we still ended up with a whole lot of nothing. Even my Wizard's Sight didn't get anything other than darkness and blood soaking into the ground. I had managed to follow the sense of death to a spot filled with the rotten feel of black magic.

Nightwing pulled me back when he caught my shudder. I explained to him how black magic feels to me and how much I wanted to dunk my head in warm water to get rid of that feeling. But I also knew that what remained in that spot was residue gone stale a couple of days ago. If I stumbled across that same black magic again, a dunking wouldn't suffice. A nice, long soak in heated water would.

Whatever magic happened here, it wasn't a major working or there'd be more residues. But it still left a bad taste in my mouth.

"Still nothing?" I asked from the other side of the garage Nightwing brought us to. He said it was more secure than another motel room, and he trusted me enough not to kill him in his own secret base. I was still wondering how secure it was when I took one step into the garage, then took five steps back at the sight of the gadgetry around the place.

One of his little devices sparked on the table and I hoped I didn't break it.

"It's a spare comm I was trying to fix." Nightwing waved off my concern. "I can get another, don't worry."

We ended up compromising with him moving most of his stuff to one side while I stayed in the other; which meant we had to shout to each other just to hold a decent conversation and I couldn't see whoever it was he talked to over the computer except for lines on a green screen.

"Oracle says the police reports read the same." The vigilante was telling me. "No one suspicious lurking nearby, no sound, not a trace. But the witnesses all felt uncomfortable just before their friend disappeared."

"That would be the magic talking." I rubbed my temples. Nothing was ever easy. "Hell's bells."

"Sorry we can't be of much help."

"That's alright. It's my case. Got to make sure I earn my paycheck." I walked over to the phone near me and pulled out a folded paper out of my pocket as I went.

"Harry?"

"I got a couple of calls to make." I made a brief effort to hold in my magic punched in a number from the list. I still got a lot of static, but that was normal for two members of the Paranet to use the phone. The Paranet is a collection of minor practitioners – none of them powerful enough to be called a wizard except for me and one other – who regularly exchanged information on magic. It was mostly a support network for people the big guns don't bother paying attention to. When something paranormal happens, the information gets passed on until it reaches someone who can solve it. Sometimes, a case becomes serious enough to be passed to me.

The Paranet still wasn't widely used by my bosses; but for someone in my job, it comes in handy now and then. "Mrs. Plumbart? Harry Dresden. I wonder if you've felt something in Bludhaven lately…"

I hung up a few minutes later. Nightwing was looking at me expectantly.

"On the nights of the disappearances, a couple of the local practitioners were sensitive enough to feel a disturbance in the force."

"Uh, whatever you say, Obi Wan."

I grinned at him. "I called the practitioners who lived nearest Melville Park. On those same five nights, they felt a wave of black magic – powerful enough to make them stumble; which means I'm up against something really nasty."

"Just you?" Nightwing asked.

"No, I'll be taking Pete, my imaginary back-up."

"Well, I was going to offer but if you'd rather take Pete instead…"

I held up a hand. "I know you're good with criminals and metas, but leave the supernatural nasties to someone like me."

He was about to protest further when he paused, a hand going up to his ear. "Batman?"

"Not him, either. I-" it took his turning away for me to realize he was talking to someone through an earpiece. I quickly put as much distance between us as I could, and ended up leaning against the far wall. If I keep getting static from a normal telephone, I didn't want to jinx one as small as the one Nightwing uses. It might blow up in his ear.

When he finished the call, he looked up and drew back in surprise at how far I was. "Hey, what are you-"

"Magic and technology." I called back. "Didn't want to cut off your call again."

"Oh." He reached up and took off his earpiece. "Batman wants us to meet him. Says he's got your necromancer."

I blinked. "How'd he find the guy so fast?"

"He's Batman."

"Stars and stones." I muttered. "Walked right into that one."


	10. Chapter 10

I drove the rental again while Nightwing pointed out the way. The vigilante's injury must still be hurting if he let me drive. I parked by an empty spot beside a closed deli and got out. "So where is he meeting us?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The kid was grinning and I knew I wasn't going to like it.

He pulled out a black device and with his uninjured arm, shot into the sky. Then he was grinning expectantly at me.

I was right. I didn't like it.

"Do me a favor." I told him and grabbed his uninjured shoulder. "Don't mention this to my assistant. He likes trashy romance novels."

He laughed all the way up the roof.

Between his injury and my stiff left hand, I had to leave my staff behind. I could still work my magic without it, but my control would be iffy. Without my foci, I was a standard case of a bad-tempered bull in a small china shop so I hoped I didn't have to do a lot of spell-slinging.

The other two were waiting for us on an adjacent rooftop. Batman passed me a pair of binoculars then pointed downwards.

"Alright oh tall, dark and silent one, how far do you want me to throw this thing?"

The vigilante scowled at my offhand comment while I peered down the street using the binoculars. "What am I supposed to look at?"

"The guy about to pass the construction site." Robin answered, looking through his own pair of binoculars. "The one with the black coat and funny walk."

A middle-aged man was just passing by a construction site. He looked pretty average; dark hair, dark eyes, average height. Nothing about him was remarkable. Even his clothes were unremarkable.

" 'Funny walk?'" I watched for a moment or two, realizing what the kid meant. The man in question _was_ walking stiffly, like his joints were causing him pain.

"That's the guy who sent those zombies last night!" Nightwing exclaimed beside me. He too, had a pair of his own binoculars. I was beginning to envy these vigilantes and their gadgetry. All I had on me were my force rings, blasting rod, pentacle amulet, and the wizardly junk in my duster's pockets.

Batman spoke up from behind us. "Matthew Demerrio."

"Who?"

"He's killed six people over the last month." Batman continued. "Victims' hearts were taken out. Probably ingested."

"Ritual sacrifice." I grunted, still watching our target. The man's strange gait reminded me of something, but hell if I could put a name to it, "Wouldn't be the first time."

"Why's he coming after us?" asked Robin.

"Revenge is highly probable," came Batman's reply.

"Revenge for?"

"I stopped him from completing a ritual two weeks ago."

A sudden chill crept down my back.

I whirled around, facing the direction where the cold energy came from while I heard Batman ask, "What is it?"

I didn't bother answering him. It was all I could do to search the dimly lit rooftop until-

"Nightwing!" I lunged at him, managing to push him aside.

I had half a second to pour energy into my shield bracelet before the mud missile hit. It bounced harmlessly off my shield but its momentum was enough to knock me back on my ass.

Then the three vigilantes exploded into action.


	11. Chapter 11

I watched, awestruck, as the three whirled in a well-coordinated attack against six lumbering figures. Robin struck blows to knees and legs with his staff, never staying still long enough to get hit. Nightwing then flew in with kicks to the head and shoulders. The older vigilante didn't hesitate in bringing down the figures Robin had softened - presenting a convenient target for Batman and his powerful punches.

But the figures kept getting back up. And with every hit, lumps kept falling off of the figures, almost like…

I glanced down at the mud missile I'd blocked a moment ago.

…Like mud.

"Hey!" I called to the three, grabbing my blasting rod from my coat. "Get them close together!"

"What are you-" Batman started but Nightwing cut in.

"Do as he says!"

I gathered as much heat as I could from around me, even taking some from the three vigilantes as they herded the figures to the middle of the roof. I added in the alarm and panic from when I first saw the missile headed for Nightwing. The end of my blasting rod was already smoking as I aimed at the group.

When the figures were close together, I yelled to the others, "Get behind me _now_!"

The three vigilantes leaped back and ran towards me.

I released the heat I gathered with a shout, "_Fuego!"_

A thick plume of fire burst from my blasting rod and engulfed the six figures – mud constructs, as I recognized them. The flames were short-lived but made up for it in intense heat - heat multiplied by my anger at someone attacking Nightwing. Hell, I liked the kid. And my rage was enough to bake the constructs, hardening the mud into terracotta.

"Whoa." Robin and Nightwing gasped behind me.

When the fire died down and the mud constructs were now turned into six earth statues, I held out my left hand and mentally reached for the nearest one.

"_Forzare!_" I called, making a slashing motion with my hand. An invisible force shoved the statue to crash against the others and they shattered into pieces.

I turned to the three vigilantes. Nightwing and Robin looked impressed, but Batman's scowl deepened. I gave him back a grim smile. "I guess that proves Demerrio's our stalker."

"Hey, he's gone!" Robin called. He had rushed back to the edge to look for our man as soon as I mentioned him. But I'd already known that.

I returned my blasting rod to its sling inside my coat. "That wasn't the real Demerrio. That was just another construct."

"Like these guys?" Nightwing nudged one of broken constructs with his boot then he crouched down for a closer look. "Batman, this doesn't look like normal dirt."

The vigilante came over to crouch beside him. "No, it's not all dirt. It's part clay."

He pulled out a plastic baggie and dropped some of the dirt chunks into it.

"What are you going to do with that?" I asked.

"I have a state-of-the-art forensic lab at the Cave. I might be able to trace where the clay came from." He turned to me. "And you're coming with us."

"What?"

"You know what's been attacking us. And you can sense them before they do."

"I thought you didn't trust me."

"I don't. Not completely." He let his cape fall down his shoulders, covering himself in black. "I researched your file."

"Which one?"

"All of them."

"Especially the ones from Chicago PD." Robin added.

My mouth gaped open. "You…you grabbed Murphy's files?"

"Robin and I will go ahead." Batman instructed, ignoring my question as they jumped off the rooftop. "You follow with Nightwing."

"How'd you even get to…" I caught Nightwing's grin and realized just what I was going to ask. "Stars and stones, I'm not walking into that a third time."

"Come on, Harry. Batman doesn't like lateness."


	12. Chapter 12

We dropped down to the street using jumplines again – on another day, I probably would have enjoyed the stunt but I could feel tiny tremors running across Nightwing's back. The fight must have taken more out of him than I thought. It reminded me of when I was walking wounded but still sucked up the pain and ran. It frustrated the hell out of my friends until I told them I had to do it because…

"…no one else will."

"What do you mean?" Nightwing asked as he dropped us a few steps away from the rental.

"Nothing. Thinking out loud." I opened the driver side door and climbed in.

Nightwing settled back into his seat and told me to drive to Gotham.

"So what else can you do?" the vigilante asked.

"What?"

"Your magic. It's different from what I've seen."

"Oh. In a nutshell, I manipulate energy. Mana. Juju." I shrugged. "The fire I created back there; I took heat energy from you three, poured anger on it and let go. Like igniting fireworks."

Nightwing snorted. "Thought it felt a little chilly there for a while. So that was you?"

"Sorry about that. Didn't have time to explain."

"It's okay. Just don't mention it to Batman. He doesn't like magic."

"And strangers."

"He _distrusts_ strangers." The vigilante corrected. "There's a difference."

"So I have to make friends with him?"

Nightwing nodded.

"Stars," I huffed, "and how would I score brownie points with tall, dark and silent?"

"You saved Robin." The vigilante's tone was quiet. "And me."

"At least, that counts for something."

"With Batman? It means _everything_."

I didn't answer him for several minutes. Family had always been a sensitive subject with me. My mother died when I was born, and my father followed six years after. I'd been living in an orphanage for five years until a wizard adopted me – and then he tried to kill me. And here was a kid – a superhero – who was similarly orphaned but got lucky in the adoption game. I was more than a little envious; I was jealous. I had to mentally kick my bitter self for feeling that.

Nightwing seemed to respect my silence and didn't speak up until we were almost at the Gotham City limits.

"Pull over. I'm driving the rest of the way."

"Uh, you sure about that?" I glanced at him but I pulled the car to the side. "You're still moving stiffly."

The vigilante grinned at me. "From this point on, you're not allowed to see how to get into the Cave. Batman's rules."

"Oh, right. Secret identity stuff." I climbed out of the car and moved to the passenger side. "Is there a Superhero list out there like the Evil Overlord list? Where it says superheroes aren't expected to give straight answers because of secret identity issues?"

Nightwing laughed. "Robin might have a copy. We've been thinking of adding to it." He held out a piece of fabric.

I pointed at the fabric in suspicion. "Blindfold?"

"Blindfold."

"Hell's bells." I muttered and let him tie the fabric over my eyes. With my eyes shut, the long day of interviews capped off with a fight finally got to me and I dozed the rest of the way.


	13. Chapter 13

It felt like I had just fallen asleep when Nightwing nudged me awake. "We're here."

I shook the sleep out of my head and got out of the car, pulling off the blindfold. "Sorry. Been a long day."

"It's going to be even longer." Batman growled. He was standing a few steps away, holding out a folder. The Cave was mostly dark, though I could glimpse a large computer screen somewhere behind the vigilante. There was also a sleek, black car beside my rental.

I stepped forward to take the folder from Batman. "What's this?"

"A file on Matthew Demerrio that I've gathered over the past week."

I flipped through the folder, impressed at the Batman's thoroughness. There was family background, career history, known accomplices, surveillance photos…

I pulled out several photographs from the file. A handful of them were of Demerrio in various places; eating, walking, buying groceries… I paused at the last photo. "He's paying in cash."

"What about it?" Nightwing asked.

"Magic screws up the magnetic strips on cards. It's why I don't have any."

"So we know he's a wizard."

I shook my head. "More than that. If he's a wizard, his magic should have manifested during puberty and we would have gotten word. He can't live for years without our noticing him at least once; which means he had to have gotten the power recently."

" 'We?'"

"White Council." I answered flippantly. "It's a governing body for wizards. We've got our own laws and everything. But don't mention it in public. Some of the older wizards love their secrecy."

I flipped to one of the more recent photographs. The accompanying information said it was of a ritual Demerrio had been performing when Batman crashed in and stopped him. It involved the usual drawings in blood, various objects and lit candles at five points surrounding a circle. I didn't recognize the significance of the foci he used and wished I'd brought Bob with me. Bob was faster than researching through libraries.

Then I noticed the written symbols.

"At what point in the ritual did you stop him?" I asked, my gut churning.

"His summoned demon was starting to manifest."

"Hell's bells." I let the photograph fall and rubbed my temples. I almost never got an easy case.

"It means something bad?" Robin asked, coming up from somewhere deeper in the Cave.

"Worse. It means the demon's gotten a foothold and he'll be looking to gain more."

"How do we stop him?"

"You don't." I shoved the photos back into the folder.

"I take it you don't want us to face this demon." Batman said flatly.

I nodded. "It's my job. And you're vanilla mortals. I go after him."

"But he's targeting us." Robin protested. "Or so you said."

"I'll set up a warded place where you can stay-"

"No." Nightwing spoke firmly.

I glanced at him. "What?"

"You heard me." He crossed his arms. "I'm not going to sit idly while you get yourself killed for my sake. I'm going with you."

"Wrong." Batman crossed to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're both going."

Robin spoke up, "If you'll both go, then I'm-"

"No!" Both Batman and Nightwing countered.

"-staying at the Cave." The boy sighed.

I shook my head. "Look, I can't let you-"

The computer beeped and I flinched. I still wasn't used to having all this technology surrounding me. In fact, I was willing to bet the computer monitor would blow up in the next twelve minutes if I stay here any longer.

"We've got several matches for the bentonite." Robin announced, walking over to the large computer. From where I was standing, I could see the screen display several blinking dots on a map of what looked like Gotham.

" 'Bentonite?'" I repeated.

"The sample we took from the constructs." The boy explained. "They contained bentonite."

"Bentonite is fairly uncommon in Gotham." Batman added, coming over to similarly study the screen.

"And in Bludhaven?"

"Almost non-existent."

"So Demerrio must have made the constructs here."

"In one of the seven spots where bentonite was used." Batman took the map in at a glance then turned to his kids. "We'll split up. Nightwing and I-"

The computer beeped again. Robin turned around to type up more commands and the dots vanished into one. The screen then zeroed in on the lone dot and showed an empty quarry. I was too far to see details, but I had a niggling voice tell me that a quarry wasn't supposed to be _that_ empty.

"Cameras showed a dark blue sedan parked here." Robin stated.

"Sedan?" The image of a sedan idling by a Bludhaven warehouse flashed into my mind. "Can you see the license plate from here?"

"Sure."

I rattled off a series of numbers as the kid zoomed closer on the picture of the sedan. "You've got a match."

"It's Demerrio." I smiled grimly. "I remembered the license plate when I picked up Nightwing at the docks."

"You mean, despite the zombie attack, you still managed to catch the plate numbers?" Nightwing's tone was surprised.

"Yeah. I'm good that way."

The younger vigilantes exchanged smiles and even Batman gave me a nod. "There may be hope for you yet."

"Hey, I make my living as a private investigator. If I'm not observant enough, I miss out on clues."

"Nightwing." Batman continued as if I didn't speak up. "With me. Robin, take Dresden. Use the Redbird."

I watched as the older vigilantes went for the black vehicle in the center of a revolving bay. As Nightwing front-flipped for the passenger side, I realized the car could only seat two. I also realized that aside from my rental, there were no other cars beside it.

I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I thought what the Redbird must be…

"Hey, Dresden!"

I looked towards Robin's voice and groaned. "Couldn't you vigilantes actually have a van on reserve?"

"It doesn't have as many toys installed." Robin explained, revving the motorbike's engine. "Come on! We haven't got all night."


	14. Chapter 14

We rode out of the Batcave with me behind the kid, my left arm around his waist. Even with my mostly deadened hand, I could feel the kid's defined muscles. He was decades younger than I was and this kid was in a lot better shape than I am. It almost made me want to hit the gym more often; but it was rare that I could find time to exercise with all the jobs I had to juggle.

The ride was mostly quiet. Robin kept tapping on what looked like a computer between the handles. I peered over his shoulder and saw a flickering GPS screen. Whenever Robin tapped the console, the screen steadied for a moment then resumed flickering.

"I take it, this is your fault?" Robin's voice was muffled beneath his helmet. I had to hand it to the vigilantes, they may have a habit of throwing themselves into piss-in-your-pants danger but they make sure to take every protection man has invented when they do it. He tapped at the flickering screen again.

"People are always putting the blame on wizards." I said drily.

"So it _is_ your fault."

"No, it's Batman's. For sticking me with you on a high-end motorbike."

I thought I heard the kid grumble in agreement but couldn't be sure with the wind roaring in my ears. "You said this is because of your magic? You must be a living, breathing EMP generator."

"Uhh, thanks?"

"There has to be a way to protect against your EMP-field."

"If you can do that, tell me. So I can get myself a microwave instead of my old-fashioned stovetop. Heating soup wouldn't have to take forever."

Robin remained silent the rest of the trip, still occasionally tapping his onboard computer.

Several minutes later, we reached the quarry.

It was big. It was empty. And it was full of rocks. That pretty much summed up the place. The chain link fence had been left open and we warily moved in. There were only a handful of lit bulbs illuminating the path to the lone office. But as far as I could see, no one was around.

Robin parked beside a jumble of crates and containers, keeping the bike in shadows. I unfolded off the bike and stretched my cramping legs. Robin's bike was specified to his size and with my coltish legs, I made for an origami'd passenger.

"Batman and Nightwing are checking the office." Robin said quietly as he headed for a mess of rocks and outdated equipment. "We're to act as lookouts."

I nodded and stepped away from him to find a hiding spot for my own. Knowing these vigilantes, they each had a comm in their ears and I'm not staying close enough to jinx any of their toys.

"Stay in sight." Robin instructed before leaping to the top of a pile of rubble. For a moment, I had the idea these kids were part mountain goat, considering how easy they climbed up a rock-pile or down a crate-pile. I could call enough magic to give me a lift upwards but I doubt I'd be able to pull off a quiet landing; so I opted to stay on the ground and out of sight of anyone passing through the lighted path.

But that doesn't mean I'm too far away to be left out of the loop.

I shifted until I had the office building in my sight. A quick look over my shoulder confirmed that Robin was keeping an eye on me along with the rest of the empty place. Listening was a skill that took a lot of concentration – I might as well be a sitting duck when I'm doing it so I had to either hide or have someone else to watch my back. And who better to be your back-up than an experienced vigilante?

The night was quiet so it was easy to focus in on what doesn't belong – Batman's and Nightwing's voices.

"Here's another memo," Nightwing was saying, "looks like Demerrio's been coming here on and off for a week and no one's bothered to ask him why."

"Demerrio must be influencing them." There was the sound of more papers shuffling. "Dresden may be right."

"What makes you say that?"

"Demerrio wasn't powerful two weeks ago."

"So someone had to give him power. Someone…or some_thing_?"

"The summoned demon."

I stopped Listening to their conversation when I heard a different sound: that of small rocks tumbling down. It wasn't unusual to hear that in a quarry but it was night and there were only four people present – none of whom were in any position to be climbing over rock piles.

I snapped out of Listening and yelled to Robin, "Get them out of there! NOW!"


	15. Chapter 15

I ran full tilt for the office building.

A second later, the kid joined me and somehow kept pace with my longer strides.

I could hear glass breaking in the office along with several crashes. I was just a few yards away when Nightwing suddenly came tumbling out the door.

He was grappling with something huge and gray, and he had one of his sticks lodged in the thing's jaws. Then I had a glimpse of red glowing eyes and recognized the thing for what it was: a stone hound.

I ran up to the wrestling pair and activated one of my force rings with a word. Then I let fly with a right hook.

The hound was flung back. Robin ran over to help Nightwing to his feet while I raised my left arm and channeled my will into my shield bracelet.

"Got any…bright ideas?" Nightwing gasped. Blood was running down his chest from where the hound's claws gouged him.

"Uh…"

"Get down!" Robin had his staff out and leapt in front of Nightwing.

But I was closer to the hound.

It lunged at me, snarling as it hit the shield I brought up. It was strong. Sparks from my bracelet flew with every strike the hound made. My arm was shaking from the strain.

Then something small latched onto the hound's flank. There was a high-pitched whine, then-

The hound flinched at the explosion on its flank; chunks of rock falling away so it looked like something had taken a bite off. It shifted its gaze from me and towards the dark figure standing by the doorway.

Batman.

A gray shape hurtled through the office window and landed in front of the vigilante, snarling. Hell's bells, there were _two_ hounds.

"It's animated stone!" Batman yelled and dove to one side as both hounds sprung for him.

The hounds crashed into one another, their claws scrabbling as they righted themselves. By the time they steadied themselves, Batman had already rolled away.

I still had my arm up – shield bracelet still sparking – when a handful of small somethings flew past me and embedded themselves on the hounds. There were several high-pitched whines then small explosions rocked both hounds back and tore more holes in their bodies.

I turned to the two young vigilantes behind me. "Explosives?"

Twin ear-wide grins met my curious stare.

Recklessness must have been contagious, because I found myself echoing their grins. "Hell's bells, I like your gadgets!"

"We've only got a handful!" Robin ducked as one hound lunged at him. He chucked another of those mini bombs and blew off part of the hound's shoulder.

There is a certain glee in watching things go boom. Only someone must have forgotten to tell that to the hounds because they only looked angrier.

"We need something stronger!" Nightwing yelled. Blood was starting to cover his entire torso.

"Dresden!" I twisted my gaze to Batman. "Can you channel electricity?"

"I don't see any-" I stopped at the small device he pulled out of his belt. "Taser?"

"Can you?"

I nodded without answering, focusing my will on my staff. The runes glowed brightly and I aimed it in Batman's direction, my free hand facing the hounds. "_Ventas fulmino! Galvinium!_"

The electrical current arced from the device to my staff, through my arms and out towards the hounds in a blinding burst of light.

The sound was deafening, standing as close as I was. I held the current for only a second before I let my arms down.

My skin was tingling. There were large purple spots in my eyes and I couldn't hear anything outside of the ringing for a few moments. I waited for my vision to clear and blinked twice at the devastation I made. Nothing was left of the hounds but two smoking piles of rocks.

A sudden weight on my shoulder almost had me jumping out of my skin.

"Not bad." Batman's gravelly voice was toneless as though he was talking about the weather. I blinked at him for a couple of seconds before he turned and went straight to his sons.

"Did he just...?"

"He just did," Nightwing replied cheerfully. "Consider it an honor."

"Get back to the Cave." Batman called over his shoulder. "We'll talk there."

I spoke up before he could leave, "Uh, could I ride in the Batmobile this time? I don't want to have to amputate my legs to ride the Redbird again."

"No."

"Alright, I get it the first time was so you could grill Nightwing about me, but for this time," I started my complaint but Batman cut me off.

"The Batmobile has a highly advanced onboard AI. Your EMP field might convince it to explode."

Wiseass as I was though, I couldn't come up with a reply to that except, "Oh."

I ended up riding behind Robin again. Nightwing was almost stumbling from blood loss and Batman decided that if Nightwing lost more blood, he'll tie the kid down until the injuries heal.

"Can I stay at O's when you do that?"

"Brat."

"They always like this?" I asked Robin.

"Yep."

For someone with multiple stab wounds, Nightwing was far too cheerful. I wondered if that was from the painkillers Batman administered or he was just too happy. Then I remembered that this was a kid who once dressed in green, red and yellow; so I guessed it was the latter.


	16. Chapter 16

We were the first to reach the Cave this time. Robin went to turn on more lights, while I glanced around the Cave. It was brighter lit than before so I could fully appreciate how freaking _huge_ the place is.

One side must have been the designated vehicle area. There were more Batmobiles than just the one I saw, all parked neatly in their places. There was even a jet _and _a sleek boat. In another corner I saw a giant penny, a giant joker card, even a dinosaur. I figured being a costumed vigilante must have its perks. Across that stood a wall of computer monitors surrounding a screen as big as my Volkswagen Beetle - hell, it might even be bigger than my small car.

Then I noticed the tray of sandwiches left by the counter. There wasn't a tray of food there before, and if all four of us went out to the quarry a couple of hours ago...

"Where did that come from?"

"From the kitchen of course, sir."

I jumped back at the sudden appearance of a uniformed elderly man. "Hell's bells!"

The old man gave me a disapproving look as he set down a tray of steaming mugs. "Language, Master Dresden. At least while you remain a guest here."

"Who-? What-?"

"Harry, this is Alfred," Robin returned, grabbed a sandwich off the tray and sat down on the lone computer chair. "He's our butler."

"Would you like some tea, sir?" The old man offered me a mug.

"Uhh, sure."

"I took the liberty of preparing a sandwich for you as well, Master Dresden."

"Uh, call me Harry. 'Master Dresden' makes me sound too lordly."

"Very well then, Master Harry."

"Stars and stones."

At that point, the Batmobile came roaring in. Batman flowed out of the driver's side and went round to the passenger side to help Nightwing. The kid leaned heavily on his father's shoulder as the two made their way towards a medical gurney. By the time the kid was comfortably settled on the gurney, Alfred was already there with a medical kit and what looked like a blood bag.

"Uh, shouldn't a doctor-?"

"Alfred is an experienced medic. He can handle a simple blood transfusion." Batman strode towards the computer.

Butler _and_ medic. Yeah, I guess vigilantes _do_ have all the perks.

"Hey," Nightwing called woozily from the gurney, "Can I get a sandwich too? And hot cocoa?"

"Of course, sir. _After_ I've finished plugging your holes or I fear you would be leaking blood everywhere."

"You can start eating, Harry," Robin called out. "Alfred made that so it's not poisonous."

"Oh, right." I took a bite of my sandwich I had absently picked up - and nearly melted at the heavenly taste.

"Stars, you guys have a butler who cooks like this _every day_?"

"Yep."

"Adopt me."

The kids snickered while Alfred simply raised an eyebrow. Batman however, scowled at me and said with finality, "No."

"I was kidding!"

"Kidding aside," the black-clad vigilante turned back to the computer. "We need to search for Demerrio. The quarry was a trap."


	17. Chapter 17

"That's what I thought." I stayed where I was, calmly eating my sandwich. I didn't dare go any closer to the bank of computers or the infirmary. No need to blow up anything in the Cave. "There should've been nothing there tonight."

"Explain."

"Stone hounds are copied from Foo dogs - temple dogs believed to have celestial ancestry. They're like night guards; vicious, tough, and follows only one master."

"Having stone hounds there means Demerrio wants the quarry guarded. Why?"

"You said he's been coming and going for a week."

Batman glanced sharply at me. "Where did you hear that?"

I shrugged, finishing off the sandwich and brushed away the crumbs from the front of my duster. "I was Listening to you and Nightwing while you were checking the office."

"How?" Robin asked. "I was closer than you and I didn't hear anything."

"Listening, with a capital 'L'. It's a skill. If I concentrate enough, I could hear a conversation from a block away despite ambient noise."

"Super-hearing?"

"Nope. That would be inhuman."

"How far away is your range?" Batman interrupted.

"Far enough." I shrugged again. Then I glanced uneasily at the thoughtful gazes both Batman _and _Robin aimed at me. It was unnerving, to say the least. "What?"

"That's their evaluating look." Nightwing came up, his gait slow. "It means you're getting a complete appraisal by the end of this case."

I stared at him in horror. "I'm..._what_."

"Nightwing," Batman interjected. "See if these people look familiar to you."

I ignored him and kept my gaze on Nightwing, "Wait a minute, what do you mean 'complete appraisal'?"

"Harry..."

"I'm not going to stay around to be poked like a lab rat! I get enough needles with my job as it is! I-"

"_Dresden_."

Batman's warning tone clogged the rest of my protests in my throat.

"Leave the irrelevant testing _after_ the case. Before any more innocents are involved."

"Shutting up."

The vigilante turned to his son. "Nightwing?"

Right, the case. I made a mental reminder to myself to discuss the whole evaluation thing with Batman later. I glanced over to the bank of monitors to see several photos of people lined up on the main screen. Nightwing carefully stepped up to the computers.

"I recognize this one," he declared, pointing at the photos, "and this one, and these two. They were the zombies that attacked me." Then he leaned forward to take a closer look at another photo. "Hey, aren't these the homeless that went missing?"

"Some. The others were workers in the quarry."

" 'Were?'" I repeated.

"The quarry has been closed down for days. There have been too many unexplainable disappearances - all starting two weeks ago."


	18. Chapter 18

"In the same week Demerrio began visiting." Nightwing continued. "He must be the one killing the homeless."

"From that, we can assume he's been killing the workers too." Batman added. "Dresden?"

"Five homeless, seven workers..." I muttered to myself, picturing all those people in my mind's eye. It made sense in a way; a lot of power needs to feed on a lot of energy. Death, the snuffing of a life, carried a lot of energy. And if Demerrio had only recently come into a lot of power, he'll need a constant supply - especially since he doesn't have a bit of magical talent in him. He'll need to get it from an outside source.

I could understand why he picked on the Bludhaven homeless: they were unnoticeable, and any repercussion from the disappearance of one is highly unlikely. But then, why would he target the workers in the quarry?

"He's guarding something in the quarry." Robin reminded me. I realized belatedly that I was speaking out loud. "Why else would he go there unless it has something he wants or needs."

Why indeed. It can't be anything magical in nature or I would've felt something. Unless -

Then it hit me. "A Way."

"A way to what?"

I ignored the kid and followed my thoughts. "There's only a short distance between Gotham and Bludhaven, but no one would want to waste time going back and forth between two cities..." I paid no attention when Batman and Robin both glanced at Nightwing and continued speaking, "There has to be a Way from the quarry here to Melville Park in Bludhaven."

"Hold it!" Nightwing cut in. "You mean they're connected?"

"Sure. There're lots of Ways scattered around the world. They're kind of like shortcuts only you have to go somewhere else in between points A and B."

"Go where?"

"The Nevernever."

" 'Second star to the right, straight on till morning?'" Robin piped up.

I paused in my narration to give him a look. "Did you just...quote _Peter Pan_ to me?"

"Isn't that the way to enter Neverland?"

"Stars no!" I rubbed the back of my neck. "Look, the Nevernever is...an alternate plane; a magical alternate plane where the supernatural live. You get there by making a tear in reality."

"And you can do that?" Batman asked.

"Sure. Done it a few times." I shrugged and turned to what I could see from the computer screens several steps away. Then I continued thinking out loud. "Two weeks ago, Demerrio summoned a demon from somewhere in the Nevernever. Things from the Nevernever can't stay on this plane for long without a construct." I turned to face Batman. "You said Demerrio wasn't powerful before he did the summoning ritual."

"I highly doubted he had any power whatsoever."

"Well, he does now - which could only mean the demon's lending him some juice, which also means the demon's going to be weak unless he replenishes himself." I pointed to the photos. "That would mean a victim every couple of days and the easiest ones that he could get."

"But why's he after us?" Nightwing asked, gesturing to himself and Robin.

"Batman said it: revenge. If I'm right, he wants either of you as the final sacrifice. The deaths of his enemy's offspring would seal whatever deal he had with the demon."

I took a step back as Batman growled, "Not gonna happen."

Hell's bells, if anyone thought a man in a bat suit looks more ridiculous than scary obviously never met _this _guy.

"You have a plan to stop Demerrio?"

"Sure, but we'll have to do it by tomorrow night." I spoke casually, the next step already forming in my mind.

"Why?"

"Because the quarry's closed and there are fewer people in Melville Park at night. And the demon's going to be very hungry."


	19. Chapter 19

I spent the rest of the night in the Cave - Batman's orders. I would've argued but Nightwing just gave me a tired, "Please," and I stifled my protests. The kid had been with me during the long day of interviews, got in a couple of fights, and had lost a couple pints of blood; I didn't want to aggravate a vigilante who was so obviously dead on his feet.

So the butler prepped another medical bed and pointedly told me where the bathroom was before leaving. A still woozy Nightwing was also told to stay in the Cave to recover and keep me company - though I knew it was to make sure I didn't wander around destroying things, rather.

But it had been a long day and an even longer night, and I fell asleep as soon as I was horizontal.

When I woke up the next morning, I asked Nightwing for a punching bag.

"I need to recharge my force rings." I showed the handful of silver rings on my right. "They store kinetic energy and when activated, releases it in one go. Makes for one hell of a punch."

"So that's how you got the hound off me." He grinned and led the way to the gym part of the Cave. "We've also got practice dummies if you need them."

"No thanks, just the bag is fine."

He watched for a few minutes as I bullied the bag then remarked, "You're not using your left hand."

"It got burnt a few years back. Doesn't have a lot of movement in it left."

A gravelly voice replied just behind me. "Show me."

"Hell's bells!" I jumped in a spin, putting my back to the punching bag. "Seriously, someone needs to put a bell on you!"

Batman scowled and gestured at my gloved left hand. "Show me."

I shifted my left hand behind me. "It's not a pretty sight."

He waited expectantly.

Finally, I sighed, slid the glove off my hand and held it out for his inspection. It still looked like a melted wax figure of a hand; the reason why I was reluctant to show it to anyone. But Batman's face was expressionless as he turned it this way and that; then he started dragging me to the lab part of the Cave.

"Hey wait! Where are we going?"

He continued dragging me. "I need a better look."

"My hand is fine! It was years ago! Why do you need to look at it anyway?"

"We are going against a demon. I need to be sure you are in good condition to fight it."

"I can fight just fine!" I glanced around and aimed a pleading look at the other vigilante in the room. "Nightwing!"

But he only shook his head and smiled. "Sorry, Harry. I'm with Bats on this one. But don't worry, he'll just take a look."

"Why don't I believe you?" I grumbled and let the older vigilante examine my hand under a magnifier.

"How did this happen?" Batman's grip was firm but light.

"I was shielding. Against napalm." I squirmed in my seat at the memory. My shield was the last line of defense before the napalm scorched me, my friend Murphy, and a mercenary I'd hired for the job. I'd let my hand be roasted to save our lives.

"How severe was the damage at first?"

"Bad. It was-" His words sunk in. " 'At first?' What do you mean, at first?"

"It was bad enough for specialists to recommend amputation." Nightwing put in. I turned and found him sitting by the computer and scrolling through -

"Is that my medical file? How'd you even-"

Batman's hand clamped down and pulled me back to my seat. I could feel the full force of his glare on me even with the cowl on.

"The damage was reportedly extreme." He spoke quietly, his voice carrying throughout the Cave. "But your hand isn't burned as badly. In fact, it bears signs of..._healing._"

I squirmed even more. Only a handful of my friends know about my hand - my _recovering _hand. It was hardly a secret, but I wasn't sure I could tell a costumed vigilante about it.

"Your files won't be accessible to just anyone." Nightwing offered. "Not even to the League."

I sighed and gave in. "Wizards can live for centuries if they aren't killed, and this is the secret to it. Apparently, provided they survive, wizards can heal _any _damage."

Nightwing whistled while Batman nodded.

"Wait, you _knew_ about this?" I demanded.

"It was an addendum to your medical file; written by a Waldo Butters."

I dropped my head to my free hand and groaned. "Hell's bells."

"I had Oracle further encrypt the file. We will give you warning if anyone other than the author is accessing your file."

"It's alright. It isn't like anyone would believe Butters, anyway."

Batman and Nightwing exchanged a look.

"You'd be surprised," Nightwing turned to me. "Some people can be desperate enough to believe anything."

"We will make sure that this doesn't get out." Batman added.

I nodded at them. "You'd better. I don't want to have the entire wizard community hunted down to be made into guinea pigs."

"We won't let that happen." He flowed to his feet, pushing the magnifier away.

"So what's the prognosis, doc?"

"While capable, your hand has limited mobility. I do not want you engaging in any physical fights."

"I can run and sling spells. I've been doing it for years."

"No. You need to be careful of your aim or you might hit either myself or Nightwing."

"Not if you go after Demerrio while I take care of the demon."


	20. Chapter 20

Robin came back in the late afternoon. When everyone had gathered, I briefed them all on my plan and braced myself for the protests. It didn't take long.

"Too risky." Batman said.

"Not a good plan." Robin added.

"Isn't there another way?" Nightwing asked.

I shook my head. "This is the best way to find Demerrio. I can't track him, and you can't trace him. So we'll have to lure him out."

"But to use yourself as bait?" Nightwing frowned. "It's too risky. What if something happens and we couldn't reach you?"

"I can protect myself for a time. Maybe hold him off until one of you can get my back."

"I'd rather be able to keep a closer eye on you."

I met his gaze and quickly suppressed the wise ass comment I was about to say. He had removed the white lenses of his mask and I was treated to the concern and worry in his eyes. But that wasn't what gave me pause; it was the _trust_ that I saw in those bright blue eyes. Hell's bells, I figured that the kid liked me but that he _trusted me_? I'd been on the receiving end of suspicious looks and disbelieving stares for so many times, I had forgotten how it felt to have someone believe me. And yet here was someone willing to go along with my crackpot plans.

Even if that meant he'd be bringing along two others with him. It made me remember the number of times they took my word for it when I told them about the paranormal reality I grew up with. Most people would be asking me questions at every turn but these guys acted like they'd seen how dark the world can be - that there were monsters in the world.

So I sighed and relented.

I took a couple of steps back, making sure that I was far from any technology I might hex, and dropped to draw a chalk circle around me.

"What are you doing." Batman growled and I held up a hand to silence him.

Circle completed, I willed it closed and pulled out a ballpoint pen from my duster's pocket. I plucked a couple strands of my hair to tie along the pen. I muttered a couple of nonsense words and pushed my will into the pen. When the spell was done, I climbed to my feet and broke the circle with my foot.

"Here," I tossed the pen to Nightwing, "tie this on a string. It should act like a compass and point to wherever I am."

Robin snatched the pen from his older brother with a grin. "Like a homing beacon? Cool!"

"We need to go." Batman growled - does he ever _not_ growl? "Daylight is fading."

We went back to Melville Park; this time I had Nightwing in the passenger seat of my rental. Both he and Batman decided Robin would be of better help tracking us through the Cave computers - it was a fancier excuse for 'stay hidden and stay safe.' Still, I breathed easier knowing the kid would stay out of the fight. Demons _like_ kids. Robin may have experience in fighting crime and metahumans but I'm not one to dangle a piece of steak in front of a starving wolf.

As luck would have it, the park was empty. I almost gave a relieved sigh when I realized it wasn't luck at all. It was a miasma of suffering.

I grabbed Nightwing's arm, halting him from walking back to the car. "Hold it, kid. Don't trust your gut right now. This is where we need to be."

There was confusion in the vigilante's voice. "Harry? What-where was I supposed to go?"

"Stay with me. Where's Batman?"

"He's a block away, doing surveillance."

"Tell him that if he starts feeling creeped out, to ignore that feeling."

The kid stared at me. "Batman? Creeped out?"

"Trust me, _anyone_ would be creeped out with all the bad juju floating around this place. Even him."

"That...that's what I'm feeling now, aren't I?" He shuddered. "That's..._nasty._"

I smiled grimly. "It's not the worst I've faced. Death and black magic leave a bad taste in your mouth."

He shuddered again and I left him to relay the message to his father. I was just about to step past the park entrance when he jogged to catch up.

"You were right. Batman was starting to wonder what he was doing here."

"He alright?"

Nightwing nodded, giving me a soft smile. "We'll be fine. Not the worst that's happened to us."

"That's good. I mean, you did insist on being my backup..."

"We'll be right behind you, don't worry." He patted my shoulder. "But I think it's best if I stay with Batman from here on out."

"You do that. I'll stay in the open and be..." I turned to him but he'd already vanished, "...bait. Stars and stones."

I focused my will on my pentacle amulet, letting it glow a soft blue light, and followed the cement path that cut through the park. The bad aura surrounding the place would deter most from entering the park, but I knew there were still a few who would dare the challenge of beating down their fear so I had to present myself as juicier bait. If Demerrio was truly strapped for victims, he wouldn't pass up the chance to snatch a practicioner. The talent in even a minor practicioner provides more power than that of a vanilla mortal.

The park was too quiet at night. I was almost tempted to hum a tune but figured it might be overkill. I wanted to present myself as a tempting target, not a too-tempting-it's-probably-a-trap one. My hold on my staff tightened, nonetheless.

I couldn't sense either of the vigilantes, making it seem like I was on my own. But I had to trust in Nightwing; trust that he had my back. After all, superheroes built their reputations on trustworthiness.

That thought bolstered my mood. Until a bulldozer tackled me to the ground, that is, and then things were rapidly moving on the road to hell.


	21. Chapter 21

My coat spared me any damage from impacting on the walkway, but the heavy weight had me scraping my cheek on the rough cement. I turned my head to see-

-Yellow eyes glared cruelly at me, fetid breath filled my nose. I had a second to react before the fang-filled mouth dove to snap my neck. I gathered my fear and channeled it into a quick spell. "_Forzare!_" I mimicked shoving the demon away with a hand.

The weight flew off my back.

I stumbled to my feet, staff aiming for the demon. Thankfully I hadn't lost it. The light from my amulet revealed a six-foot tall demon, mean yellow eyes glowing in a gorilla-face and covered with copper colored scales. It snarled at me and made to attack again but I was ready for it.

"_Fuego!_"

It dodged most of the blast but I'd managed to clip its ankle.

And suddenly, there were bat-shaped shurikens embedded in its torso.

The demon shrieked in pain and I gathered my will for another spell when it turned and ran.

"I'm going after it!" I yelled over my shoulder and chased after the demon. I didn't need to look behind me to know the vigilantes were following. This was a chance - a slim one, but still a chance - that the demon was going back to its summoner; back to Demerrio. Here was a chance to stop the bad guy before more people died. I won't let it go to waste.

The demon was fast even with a busted ankle, but I'd made a habit of practicing running and I was able to keep up. At last, I spotted it vanishing into a portal that was rapidly closing.

I didn't wait for Batman or Nightwing to catch up. The Way was already too small for me to pass through and if I delayed any longer, the demon would be getting away.

"_Aparturum!_" I shouted, tearing a hole in reality with my staff. I made it big enough for my backup to follow through when they came then jumped in.

I'd never been to this part of the city, so its Nevernever counterpart was a surprise. It was a forest - a gray-toned forest filled with muted green leaves. And just a few yards ahead, the demon was crashing through dull silver undergrowth.

I shoved away my surprise and continued the chase. It didn't occur to me that the demon would be leading me into an ambush.

And so it happened that I reached the hell side of things when I trailed after the demon and emerged between a pair of boulders the size of houses - and right into a pack of stone hounds.

Half a dozen pairs of red eyes glared at me, fluid stone muzzles curled back to show sharp teeth. There were six of them and one of me. And they were tougher to kill than a giant cockroach.

It was then that I realized I should've waited for backup.

A figure stepped out behind the hounds, right into a circle of light thrown by a string of lightbulbs overhead. The demon from earlier stood beside him like a loyal pet.

"Well now, the Justice League calls in a magus to stop me." Demerrio sneered, his nondescript features resembling that of last night's decoy right down to the black coat. The demon stared at me expectantly.

"It's wizard, not magus," I corrected, pouring my will into my shield bracelet, the runes on my staff began glowing red. "And I'm not with the League."

"Oh?"

"Nope, I'm with the White Council, with the rank of Warden. Got the gray cloak and everything."

Demerrio scoffed. "White Council? A fictional club?"

Personal history aside, I felt offended at the insult. Even if most of the White Council didn't like me, I was still a member. "It's not fictional, and it's not a club."

He waved a hand casually. "Fictional or not, it doesn't matter. I am on the cusp of unlimited power! And all I need now..." His grinned widely, it took me half a second to realize it was aimed behind me, "..._is you_."

"Move!" Batman's voice came an instant later.

I dove away from the blast of fire Demerrio sent. The hounds split up, some moving to attack me while the rest went after the vigilantes. My shield managed to deter their initial bites but I couldn't retaliate at the same time. I was effectively pinned against three hounds. And just beyond them, the demon waited for its turn.

I ducked back between the boulders, dropping my shield at the same time. Two of the hounds lunged after me. The Way had already shut, leaving enough space for me to slip through the other side. My will thrummed with adrenaline, and I reached for the earth underneath the boulders.

"_Gravitas!_"

The boulders shuddered then broke when I snatched majority of their weight then pushed it back multiplied by three, crushing the hounds beneath them. Two down, four hounds and one demon to go-

Something barreled into me from the side. I had a glimpse of black and blue before the demon dropped on the spot where I had been.

The demon snarled. It lunged to take a swipe at me but Nightwing came up, blocking the demon's claws with a stick. I fumbled for the blasting rod in my coat to help him - I lost my staff in the tumble - when I spotted another hound at the corner of my eye. It was rushing down the wrecked boulders towards me. I abandoned my search for a second and activated my force ring with a word, swinging at the rocky muzzle just as it reached me. The hound was flung back, smashing into the huge pile of rock. Three down...

Several yards away, I thought I could hear explosions going off so I had to assume Batman was doing fine; which leaves me with Nightwing. I glanced back to where the kid fought the demon. The demon was weak - well, not as strong as others I've come up against - and the kid was holding his own.

But where was Demerrio? From what I knew of this guy, he'd be in thick with the demon that lent him power. And if I can find him, I can find the Big Bad.

The sound of chanting drew my attention. Demerrio was standing just outside a circle of light, clutching his hand - a black-bladed, oddly-shaped knife protruded from its palm, dark blood flowing down to the ground in a steady stream. For a moment, I wondered who stabbed him then I recognized the knife as a demon claw.

Horror dawned on me as I realized what he was planning.


	22. Chapter 22

Nightwing was wrestling with the demon just beyond the wrecked boulders. I threw my hand at them shouting, "_Ventas cyclis!_"

Without my staff, I couldn't focus my magic with any precision. But it worked in this case, separating the pair with a mini-cyclone.

"Harry, what-?" Nightwing started but I cut him off with a harsh, "Don't let it claw you!"

The demon was picking itself up from where my wind threw it. I met its yellow gaze head-on, not fearing a soulgaze. You can't have a soulgaze with something that doesn't have a soul.

The night had turned mostly silent now except for the three of us. Demerrio droned on somewhere to my left, and Nightwing shifted into a fighting stance at my right. I began to wonder what happened to Batman.

I jumped when a chunk of stone suddenly thumped down in front of me. The demon took the opportunity to lunge - not at me - but at Nightwing.

"Look out!" I screamed at the kid.

He didn't need my warning, though. I watched in awe as he just _flipped _into the air and landed behind the demon, lashing out with a kick before the demon could recover. I didn't realize it before, but the kid was _fast_. I almost swore he was even faster than the fiend.

But the demon was not just inhumanly fast, it was inhumanly _strong. _It unflinchingly bore the hits Nightwing gave then simply...grabbed hold of the vigilante's flying ankle and _slammed _him into the ground.

It raised its arm to strike -

I grabbed my blasting rod and was aiming it to fling a fire spell -

Then Batman was suddenly there, shoving his son away. The vigilantes rolled several steps away and jumped to their feet - or rather, Nightwing did. Batman had stumbled into a crouch, and I could see blood glistening down his leg.

Someone was choking. I glanced back to see Demerrio bent almost double, clutching at his chest.

"Not...him...!" He wheezed. "...The son! I promised...the son!"

The demon was hissing in response, "A promised enemy is still a promise. I take my prize where I can get it." Scaly lips revealed a row of sharp teeth. "Stupid fool. I lent you my power. Now I take it back, with your life as interest."

Demerrio opened his mouth to scream but there was no breath in him. I fell back as I felt the pre-drawn circle snap around the demon in a shield. Hell's bells, it had been manipulating the kid into this spot during the fight and I didn't notice it! Batman had unknowingly spared them from being trapped with the fiend in that last save. But it wasn't without consequences.

"Batman!" Nightwing's voice was almost panicking as he tried to support his weakening father. He looked to me, desperation in his voice, "Harry! Something's wrong! Please-"

And the demon was growing in its shield circle, grinning at them. Curving horns were sprouting from its head, spikes extending out of its spine and its height grew from six feet to ten feet to more in seconds. It was gathering power from both Demerrio and Batman; both of whom would be drained to a husk when the fiend was done. And with this final addition to the power it had gathered over the past few weeks, this demon wouldn't be going back to the part of the Nevernever it came from. It would be staying here, free to kill.

I couldn't let that happen.

"Nightwing," my voice was strangely calm, but I shoved that thought aside to deal with later, "Whatever happens, stay back. _Don't_ leave Batman."

"I won't."

I nodded and refocused my will into a tight beam of force. I had to stop the demon while it was still growing, still gathering power. But to do that, I had to break the shield circle around it. Circles were impervious to magic and the only way to break them would be...

"_Forzare!_" With my left hand, I flung my spell onto the pile of wrecked boulders; forcing the rocks to crash into each other like billiard balls until-

-One of them crossed the pre-drawn circle.

The circle broke with a loud pop.

"_Fuego!_" I had my blasting rod pointed at the demon, pouring my fear and anger into the spell. This time, I tapped into the part of me that held _soulfire_ and my flames burst out with a silver core.

The demon staggered back, roaring. I almost believed I'd gotten the upper hand but it suddenly hurled a wall of force at me. I tumbled back, letting my coat absorb most of the blast. But I still felt like a mule had kicked my chest in. Sharp stabbing pain shot at me whenever I breathed. My vision was spotted with red.

"Harry!" Nightwing was calling. I threw out an arm, grasping at anything within reach as I tried to get back up. "Harry! Roll left!"

I did as he told me, reserving my question for after I could see. As soon as I blinked the spots out of my sight, I realized the demon had sent a swath of cutting wind where I had been. The rift it sliced into the ground was deep from what I could see and if I hadn't moved, I'd be split in half right about now. Then I noticed there was something gleaming from the bottom of the pit.

The demon was still standing. My spell had burned off its connection from Demerrio and Batman - the vigilante was slumped against Nightwing's side and its summoner was a heap of cloth a yard away - and it wouldn't be able to drain them more tonight. That left the power it had already gathered.

"_Soulfire_?" The demon was huffing, "Who gave you the power of soulfire, wizard?"

I kept silent, running through the options I had left. Soulfire takes a lot out of me, and I had already given a lot of energy tonight. I didn't know if I could still take on the fiend, but I had to take the opportunity while it was already weakened.

"Nightwing," I said softly, "get ready to take down the lights."

I was reaching for the ground below us before he even replied. I didn't find it at first, and I had a flash of worry that my plan was doomed to fail from the start, then I found it. It wasn't much, but I had to chance that it would be enough to take down the demon.

"_Aqueous._" I murmured, pulling on the power I'd found deep in the ground, tapping on my soulfire to boost my pull.

"Answer me!" The demon roared, its clawed foot stomped - or rather, squished - on the ground. It paid no attention to the suddenly softened earth but Nightwing did. He flung a shuriken to the string of lightbulbs, cutting it and plunging the whole area in darkness.

Only for a second.

Then the demon blazed with light - electricity conducted from the string of bulbs and through the water at its feet. I tapped into soulfire again - winced at the tearing sensation from my chest - and amped the electricity. "_Galvinium!_"

The world went white.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** Last part! Thanks for sticking with me. I think this fic's my best so far, but I'm still working on improving my writing. And yep, that means I'll be working on a sequel to this series soon so watch out for that! :D

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><p>I woke up to something clinking.<p>

"Hmrf?" My eyelids weighed a ton - what monster kicked my ass last night? - but I managed to open them to see an old man set down a pitcher of water and an empty glass beside the bed. A slight pulling on my cheek spoke of a bandage there.

"Ah, good afternoon, Master Harry." The old man greeted.

I blinked once, twice at the old man in a butler's uniform. My brain was too fuzzy to make sense - then I remembered what happened in the last two, three days.

"Where...?" I winced at the hoarse sound of my voice. The butler - Alfred, as I recalled - poured and handed me a glass of water.

"You are in one of the guest rooms," He went to open the drapes as I drained the glass. "Master Bruce had decided you would be more comfortable here than in the basement."

"Uh, 'Bruce'?"

"I see someone's awake." A voice came from my right. A tall, well-built man was standing by the open doorway to what I realized was the fancy room where I was. The decorations were rich, elegant, and probably cost a hundred times more than my entire apartment building. And the sheer size of it! This one _guest room_ was practically the size of my whole apartment.

I turned my attention back to the man. His clothes were no less rich than the rest of this room. He had dark hair, and blue eyes almost the same shade as that of Nightwing's. And when he entered the room, he walked with a limp; a limp on the leg that I remembered being torn by the demon. "Batman?"

"When up here in the Manor, I go by Bruce Wayne." He took a seat at one of the armchairs in the room, but he kept his gaze on me as though he was expecting something.

"Alright. You're Bruce, I'm Harry. Should I know you?"

He opened his mouth to say something but there was another voice by the door, "Harry! You're finally awake!"

I glanced over to find Nightwing - in casual clothes and sans mask - crossing over to the bed with a wide grin. His words sunk into my brain and I asked, " 'Finally?' How long was I asleep?"

"About thirty hours. Demerrio's dead, by the way. You turned the demon into some awesome firework but you've nearly drained yourself to nothing."

I winced at the memory of the ripping pain in my chest. I hoped I didn't give myself any permanent damage in my magic. It'd ruin my investigative style. "Yeah, soulfire makes for one hell of an oomph to my spells, but it also takes a lot more."

"The demon mentioned it as well." Bruce pointed out. "What's soulfire?"

"Uhh, it's power. The power of creation, to be exact. It boosts my spells and it's fueled by my soul; hence, the name."

"I see."

I turned to the younger vigilante. "So, Nightwing-"

"Call me Dick."

"Dick, as in short for Richard?"

He nodded, his blue eyes shining. "Dick Grayson."

They were still looking expectantly at me. So I caved in before my curiosity killed me to death.

"Alright, Bruce Wayne," I pointed to the guy I know as Batman, "and Dick Grayson," I pointed to Nightwing. "Should I know you people?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You're not familiar with the names?"

I shook my head. "I tend to avoid the society pages."

"Really."

I raised my hands in a shrug. "Unless you're connected with the Vampire Courts, I have no idea who you are."

The puzzlement on Bruce's face turned into a calculating one and I suddenly remembered the 'appraisal' Nightw-Dick mentioned. "Oh no. I am not staying to be a guinea pig. I've got responsibilities in Chicago-"

"This case had proven that my database is sorely lacking information on the paranormal. Before another such case arises, I'd like to be briefed with the knowledge that you have."

"I can give you the numbers to the Paranet," I offered, but he cut me off.

"Other than the knowledge, I'd also like to hire your...services. The Manor needs protective warding in place and you will be properly compensated for your time."

I choked down the outright refusal on the tip of my tongue and considered what he said. "What kind of compensation are we talking?"

He gave me a number. I stayed for nearly a whole week.


End file.
